Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

forests with walking tracks, a spectacularly located Greek Orthodox monastery and a number of clean beaches. You’ll disembark the ferry at the island’s attractive Ottoman Revival–style iskele (ferry dock) building, which dates from 1915 and features attractive Kütahya tiles. The island’s main drawcard is the Greek Orthodox Church and Monastery of St George, located on a 203m-high hill known as Yücetepe. To walk here, head from the ferry to the clock tower in İskele Meydanı (Dock Sq). The shopping district (with cheap eateries) is left along Recep Koç Sokak. Bear right onto 23 Nisan Caddesi, then head along Çankaya Caddesi up the hill to the monastery; when you come to a fork in the road, veer right. The walk, which takes at least one hour, takes you past a long progression of impressive wooden villas set in gardens. After 40 minutes or so you will reach a reserve called Luna Park by the locals. The monastery is a 25-minute walk up an extremely steep hill from here. As you ascend, you’ll sometimes see pieces of cloth tied to the branches of trees along the path – each represents a prayer, most made by female supplicants visiting the monastery to pray for a child. Once a year, on 23 April, thousands of pilgrims – Greek Orthodox and Muslim – make their way up the hill to pay their respects to St George. There’s not a lot to see at the monastery, but the panoramic views from its terrace make the hour-long trek worthwhile. A small and gaudy church is the only building of note, so most visitors spend their time at the pleasant Yücetepe Kır Gazinosu Restaurant ( % 0216-382 1333; Monastery of St George; mains ₺ 14-20; h daily Apr-Oct, Sat & Sun only Nov-Mar) . Its outdoor tables have views to İstanbul and the nearby islands of Yassıada and Sivriada. Relegated to an isolated site next to Aya Nikola Beach on the southeastern side of the island, the excellent Museum of the Princes’ Islands (Adalar Müzesi; % 0216-382 6430; www.adalarmuzesi.org; Yılmaz Türk Caddesi; adult/student ₺ 5/3, Wed free ; h 9am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to 5pm Nov-Mar; f Büyükada) is often overlooked by visitors but we highly recommend making the effort to visit it. Multimedia exhibits focus on the history and culture of the Adalar and cover every